The Grampians

Travelling down the Great Ocean Road was such a good day that I really did not have very high expectations for the rest of my trip from Melbourne to Adelaide.  I was surprised that the next few days were actually very action-packed and even tiring.

After waking up early, I headed to the Grampians which are a mountain range in the Australian state of Victoria that are known for Mt. William (the highest peak), the Pinnacle (a famous lookout), the Balconies (another famous lookout), and MacKensie Falls (waterfalls).  On the way to the Grampians, I saw my first emu in the wild(!) and was actually offered a job in a VERY small town called Dunkeld (as a receptionist at a world-class hotel), but I politely declined in hopes of finding a job closer to a major city...

Australia is such a random place filled with travelers from all over the world - each day I see something strange or interesting and nothing really surprises me anymore.  On the way to the Grampians, we saw some travelers packing up their car, but they could not fit everything in, so they were giving away their belongings on the side of the road.  We were given soap, socks, and a book (in English surprisingly), all unused.

When we arrived at the Grampians, our first stop was Mt. William and we hiked to the top.  Of our group (1 German, 3 Finnish, and 2 Dutch girls along with our tour guide), I was the first to reach the top!  I felt like I did Americans a favor by proving that some of us are capable of being physically fit, and I was very excited.

We stopped for lunch in a little town called Hall’s Gap before heading to Brambuk Cultural Centre where we saw tons of kangaroos, wallabies, and emus in the wild.  We even saw a baby kangaroo feeding from its mom!

Time for our next hike, this one to the Pinnacle which is 2.1km each way and a very strenuous walk.  We followed arrows painted on rocks, and the entire ground was uneven and unbalanced.  Most of the “pathway” was on top of large rocks that we had to climb and it was very difficult.  I even fell once and scraped my knee (which may have taken away from the fact that I was first to reach the top of Mt. William!)  The view from the top of the Pinnacle is amazing and definitely worth the hike, but it was one of the first times in my life that I experienced a fear of heights.  We were so high, and there were signs everywhere warning that the cliffs could fall at any time...

From the Pinnacle, we stopped at Reed’s Lookout but decided against walking the 1.5km to see the Balconies (we were so tired from our other 2 hikes).  The only story about Reed’s Lookout is that a few years ago, a huge bush fire burned down most of the land you can see from the lookout and forced the population of koalas there to move onto an island in the middle of the lake.  The fire almost reached the township of Hall’s Gap (where we stopped for lunch), but at the last minute the wind changed direction and it was saved.  Apparently similar to the desert of Arizona, the bush (and specifically eucalyptus or gum trees) needs to burn every few years in order to re-grow.

After Reed’s Lookout, it was time to descend the 272 stairs to MacKensie Falls (ugh I hate stairs!) but it was worth it.  After hiking back up, I was glad to have a little time to relax before we passed into the state of South Australia - which weirdly enough is 1/2 hour behind the state of Victoria.

We were staying for a night in a small town called Naracoorte which is famous for its caves which are actually a World Heritage site (along with things like Uluru or Ayer’s Rock and the Great Barrier Reef).  The place where we stayed is family owned, and the parents made us dinner while we played with their puppy.  I ate kangaroo for the first time, and I thought it tasted somewhere between beef and lamb, although it was very lean.  The dad kept calling me “Miss America” and asked me if all the terrible things he had heard about the American economy were true.

The next morning, we were going to explore the Naracoorte caves before leaving for Adelaide, and 2 more people joined our tour group.  Apparently about a month and a half before, 2 guys from the Netherlands had done the same tour that we were on, but had been offered a job as potato and onion harvesters and had stayed in Naracoorte working for the family who ran our hostel.  They had paid for the entire ride to Adelaide, so they were continuing their tour with us.  Like I said, random things like this happen all the time and you just have to expect the unexpected.

Great Ocean Road!

I wanted to write about the Great Ocean Road while it is still fresh in my memory...

After leaving Melbourne, I made my way down the Great Ocean Road after passing Torquay Beach (home of Quiksilver and Rip Curl) and Bell's Beach (where the first ever surfing competition was held and actually where the Pro Am will be next weekend).  The Great Ocean Road is about 1 1/2 - 2 hours away from Melbourne and it was built in memory of (and by) the Australian WWI soldiers.  They originally built the road using only picks and shovels and it was actually a dirt road until the 1980's when it was widened and finally paved.  It is such a long, winding coastal road, it is hard to imagine how difficult it was for them to build.

While driving down the Great Ocean Road, I saw my first koalas in the wild and actually was able to feed a wild parrot.  The drive along "Surf Coast" is really beautiful - there is just tons of unspoiled coastline and huge waves - it surprised me how few surfers were taking advantage.

One of the main attractions of the Great Ocean Road is the 12 Apostles, and I had been told (by Dana-thanks!) that I had to do the helicopter ride over them.  This was the first time I had ever been in a helicopter, and the view was amazing!  Not only was my pilot very good looking and from New Zealand, the 12 Apostles (or really 8 now since they keep falling into the ocean) are an amazing sight to see.  Apparently, they used to be named "the Sow and Piglets" but the name was changed to attract more tourists.

  

Besides the 12 Apostles, we also saw Loch Ard Gorge, the London Bridge (also falling into the ocean), The Grotto (so pretty!), the Bay of Martyrs and the Bay of Islands (where I saw my first poisonous snake in the wild - a copperhead!)

It was such an amazing day travelling down the Great Ocean Road, and at the end I was exhausted.  I stayed for a night in a town called Warrnambool which was very quaint and near the beach.  The beach nearby was actually called Stingray Bay, and because of the way it is shaped, two sides of the ocean actually meet in the middle and the oceans crash into each other.  I had never seen anything like it, and so of course I took a ton of pictures...

During dinner that night, I talked to the other girls who were travelling with me about their work experience in Australia so far.  Three girls from Finland had worked at a garlic packing factory for 3 months in a small town called Mildura, and one of the girls from Germany had worked at a fish packing factory in New Zealand.  I have heard horror stories about low pay, hard working conditions, and long hours, so hopefully I will hear back from one of my interviews soon so that I don't have to find out for myself.  By the way, the interview in Melbourne went well, and I am hopeful :)  

While I was waiting to meet with the managing director of the agency though, I was reading a magazine in the waiting room.  I read an article about a woman who is 100 years old and had set a world record for  throwing the shot-put the furthest at her age or something (not important).  Anyway in the article, it said that she had lived for 36,500 days and I was shocked.  I mean I guess the math is easy enough to do, but I had never before thought about years in terms of days, and that number seemed really low to me.  It definitely made me appreciate the fact that since we may never get to 36,500 days ourselves, that I was spending mine doing what I am doing.

Moving on, for now...

Now that I have spent 2 full weeks in Melbourne (the first week I got here and this past week), I am convinced I will be able to live here for at least a year.  There is so much to see and do, great shopping, lots of surprising alleys and lanes with restaurants that offer al fresco dining, and friendly people!  There is even a casino on Southbank (with $5 blackjack! and pokies=Australian slot machines that no one really understands the rules of) and the walk along Southbank at night is beautiful - walking along the water with the cityscape and colorful lights while fire shoots out every half hour.  Also, there is always live music to be found somewhere and people day-drinking on Sunday afternoon on rooftop bars in the middle of the city. 

Even though most of my time is spent in St. Kilda near the beach, it is nice to ride the trams into the city every once in a while too.  But while in St. Kilda, I enjoy $10 steak nights on Tuesday nights at the Republika on the beach, watching the kite surfers and sailboats, riding the roller coaster at Luna Park (for free! - thanks creepy Melbourne local guy I met at the bar at Base), eating at the restaurants and getting ice cream on Acland Street, going to the bars on Fitzroy Street (even if it is to see an occasional drag show at the Prince of Wales with an amazing Lady Gaga impersonation!), and just hanging out at the Vineyard.

When I have ventured outside of St. Kilda, I enjoyed walking up Chapel St. (they have a Lululemon there=dangerous!) where there are many shops and restaurants and the Prahran Market (for great,cheap fruits and vegetables), going outlet shopping on Bridge Road, and browsing the Queen Victoria Market (tons of souvenir shopping along with fresh fish and other food).

Unfortunately, my camera never did turn back on so I have been on the lookout all week for a replacement.  I learned the best way to buy a camera in Melbourne from a very friendly salesperson at a store on Acland St though which made buying a new camera better than I thought.  There are 4 camera stores in a row on Elizabeth St. in the middle of Melbourne, and if you walk along and play the owners against each other, you can end up getting a pretty good bargain.  After my job interview today (it went well I think!), I decided to try my luck and ended up getting an Olympus (waterproof and shockproof of course) camera at half the suggested retail price.  Seeing as the Australian dollar is also $1.10 for every American dollar too, I felt like I got a pretty good deal, so hopefully I was not secretly ripped off...

Tomorrow I leave Melbourne for awhile and continue travelling around Australia.  First, I am going to the Great Ocean Road to see the 12 Apostles on my way to Adelaide in South Australia.  I will miss Melbourne and all the people I have met so far, but I came here to travel and meet people, so I must move on.  However, I am sure I will be back soon.  Don't miss me too much, Melbourne!

Melbourne Round #2

Sydney was amazing, so I was sad to leave, especially because the weather was a perfect beach day and it was St. Patrick's Day...  However, I had already booked my return flight to Melbourne, so I figured I should go.  Before I forget: While in Sydney, I did go for an interview at an agency in CBD and it went really well.  The girl that I was supposed to interview with had an emergency so instead I met with the girl who I would be replacing.  She was really enthusiastic about the job and isn't actually leaving the agency, just being promoted to a different team.  After the interview, I definitely felt like it was a place I could see myself and considered what living in Sydney would be like...

So back to Melbourne: I got in on St. Patrick's Day night and immediately dropped off my bags and met Renee and Cat at a pub in Carlton which had an outdoor area and live music (similar to North Beach in SF where they close the streets) and had a great time.  The next day though, I was lucky I was the only one who didn't have to work and could instead relax for a bit.  But then I remembered that I had to go get my suitcases in the clothes I had worn out the night before.  Ugh!  That night, I met Cat and her family for a 3-course dinner at one of those restaurants that are less expensive because the chefs and wait staff are students.  The food was good, and Cat's family is amazing, so it was a good time.

This week in Melbourne, 2 big events are going on: the Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.  This afternoon we went to Federation Square to check out the fashion festival and Whitney Port (from The City) was the guest of honor and we got free makeovers from Loreal (along with tons of free makeup and giftbags), definitely worth it! After, we walked over to Southbank to check out the Food and Wine Festival, but none of us felt like spending $35 for a wine glass to sample all of the wines.  Instead, we took the tram back to St. Kilda, walked along the beach and ate burritos on Acland St. 

St. Kilda is one of my favorite places in Melbourne (although there are many) because it definitely reminds me of SF in that it is on the bay and has a lot of great shops and restaurants.  When I am ready to find a place to live, St. Kilda will definitely be on my list of places to look.

Some other things that happened this week:

• I learned how to surf! (check that off the list of things to do)  Even though I didn't technically stand up, I definitely feel more comfortable catching the waves and think I will be able to soon. 
• I broke my camera :(  Even though it is waterproof, a little water got in while I was trying to get a picture of Rory (Jack's roommate) surfing and it has yet to turn on
• I was teased with tickets to go see Massive Attack outside of the Sydney Opera House - one of Jack's coworkers sold me the tickets for 1/2 price until she released that her boyfriend had already sold them to someone else :(

Other than that, the things I have to look forward to this week are my camera turning back on (or else I will have to buy a new one...), my walking tour of St. Kilda with an Irish guy I met on St. Patrick's Day, my job interview at an agency in Melbourne on Wednesday (wish me luck!), and going to the Great Ocean Road on Thursday.

Pictures from Bondi/Tamarama/Bronte Beaches, Sydney

 

I'm kind of a big deal...even in Bondi.  Ate pancakes at my namesake cafe for "brekky"

At the surf competition at Bondi this weekend, the Red team (including Kelly Slater - left) won one of the contests.

Really like this picture... start of coastal walk from Bondi

  Wanted to go swimming but there were bluebottle jellyfish warnings and some washed up on the beach...

Bronte Beach tidal pools

Cemetery on the coastal walk

Last day of surfing competition crowds on Bondi Beach

More on Sydney

Sydney is definitely a different scene than Melbourne - now I understand what everyone was saying before I left.  Melbourne has an artsy vibe; it is the type of city where you can endlessly walk down alleys and find amazing shops, bars, and restaurants.  The people (and the city) have a very laid back attitude and everyone I have met so far has been very friendly.

Sydney is much more fast-paced and stressful although beautiful.  The picture on the home page of my blog is of the famous Sydney Opera House, with which I have become a little obsessed...  I went on the official tour today and actually got to see the Sydney Symphony rehearsing.  Then, I took the ferry to Manly Beach and enjoyed watching surfers while laying out on the beach.  After spending my last few days at Bondi/Tamarama/Bronte beaches, it was nice to see something different, and Manly really is worth the 45 min. ferry ride to get there.

I could not spend too much time relaxing on the beach though, because I had my first job interview in Sydney CBD (what they call the downtown city area) today.  After getting ready in the bathroom at the Manly library (not even kidding, people probably thought I was homeless), I took the ferry back to Sydney.  I am embarrassed to admit what I wore to my interview - I did not bring any dress clothes with me on this trip to Sydney - so I ended up wearing my bathing suit under a sundress with a cardigan and open-toed heels, ugh...  However, for those of you who are interested, it went really well and I have a second interview tomorrow, wish me luck!

After my interview, I walked around the Botanical Gardens which are amazing because not only do they overlook the water and opera house (told you I was obsessed), but you can also see the city landscape in the background.  It amazes me how much wildlife lives in the gardens, within the city!  I am not even exaggerating when I say there must have been thousands of flying foxes which are basically the biggest bats  I have ever seen with the faces of foxes.  Look for pictures soon!

Other than that, I went to an open-air movie last night (think Movie in the Park at Delores Park) at Centennial Park - which the tickets are $17 but I got in for free.  :)  I also started doing the Coastal walk from Bondi Beach to Coogie Beach which is amazingly beautiful but very tiring, so I turned back before I made it the whole way.  Along the way, I stopped to meet a friend (Lena) at Tamarama Beach and really wanted to go swimming because it was so hot!  However, there were signs that the beach was closed because there were blue bottle jellyfish.  Even though I had heard that being stung can be very painful (and even deadly), I thought if the surfers could do it, so could I.  However as soon as I walked to the water and saw all of the blue bottle jellyfish washed up on the sand, I literally ran back to my towel.  Instead I settled for going swimming in a natural ocean water pool on Bronte Beach.

On Saturday, I was supposed to meet a girl I knew from work in SF for a bbq on Bronte Beach, however it was raining so we ended up having a house party instead.  It is actually at this party that I got my interview today - thanks Lizzy!  All of the people at the party ended up being from SF and work in Advertising, so I felt right at home.  It is good to know that I am not the only crazy person leaving their life behind to live and work in Australia for a year (or a few as some of them have been here for longer).

I am excited because I am hopefully going to learn how to surf tomorrow at Bondi (if the weather is good) and then I head back to Melbourne on Wednesday.  However, there will be many more adventures along the way I am sure...

Melbourne to Sydney

After taking the trams around Melbourne on Tuesday and sightseeing, it was time to move on to my next city, Sydney!  Of course the bad weather has stayed with me for a few days, so my flight was delayed and when I got to Bondi, Jack said it was the worst weather day of the year...


Even with heavy clouds and crazy wind, Bondi is such a beautiful beach and I have spent many hours daily working on my tan along with thousands of locals and tourists.  Since Friday, there has been a surf competition on the beach (no big deal, just Kelly Slater is here), so the beach has been pretty busy.  


Exciting news of the week - I have 2 job interviews!  One in Melbourne and one in Sydney...  


My computer is about to die, but I will keep you posted!

What a crazy weekend!

Friday: I moved from the suburbs to the city of Melbourne, but not before seeing my first kangaroo in the wild (check that off of the to-do list).  The hostel where I wanted to stay in St. Kilda actually did not have any rooms for the night, so Renee (for those of you in SF, Renee is my ex-coworker J's ex-girlfriend) said I could crash at her apartment.  Already have my first friend in Melbourne!  I met her as she got off of work and we went to her friend's house for dinner before going out in the city.  Melbourne night life is very similar to San Francisco, so I loved it (but also met a lot of sleezy guys haha).  It happened that one of Renee's friends knew of a club opening, so we went to that, however that was the least exciting part of the night...  However, I did end the night at a club that is open until 7AM (although we only stayed until 3:30AM) before crashing on Renee's couch.

Saturday: Saturday also reminded me of San Francisco (sad!) because we woke up and went for brunch with Cat (who is amazing and Renee's friend) and then went to her house in Kensington to hang out for the day.  The weather has been rainy for the last few days in Melbourne, but when we got to Cat's house, it started hailing, and it was one of the craziest things I have ever seen.  At one point, Cat was yelling, "Is it 2012?  It's the end of the world!"  haha.  After that crazy storm, all of the roads were flooded and the traffic was really bad, but we still managed to get ourselves together and go out for the night.  I also checked into my hostel (Base at St. Kilda which is amazing!).  I had planned to meet up with Matt (again for those in SF, Matt is a friend of Ben who plays basketball with Phil, Benson's brother).  He took us out with his friends, and I am not over-exaggerating when I say that we were surrounded by some of the best looking guys I have ever seen (girls, definitely go out in the Richmond district of Melbourne - very different from SF's Richmond!).  We stayed out until 5AM, which is probably why everyone in my hostel room hated me haha.

Sunday: Sunday was again a lazy day because of the weather.  I took a cab to meet up with Renee and Cat at one of the most disgusting party houses I have ever been to in the Caulfield suburb.  It is owned by a few guys that Renee knows...  The highlight of Sunday was definitely Cat doing the Taco Dance (look for a video on Facebook soon!)

Monday: I am counting Monday as part of the weekend, because it was a Labour Day here so no one had to work.  I woke up and the sun was finally out, so I went for a run along the St. Kilda Marina.  Then Cat and I went to the country races (horse racing!).  Although neither of us won and it started raining again, it was nice to meet her aunt, cousins, and their friends and to see "the country."

Day 1 Down Under

March 1st: I was so sad to leave San Francisco behind, and as usual I was running late to the airport for my flight.  I made it though and was on my way to New Zealand (Auckland to be exact) for a quick layover before heading to Melbourne for my first week in Australia.  


For those of you who are thinking of coming to visit, I flew Air New Zealand and I definitely recommend it.  They served 2 meals, countless rounds of wine and champagne, and had an endless supply of movies and music to keep me entertained.  I had a window seat, and no one was sitting in the middle, so I was able to stretch out a little.  I regret not taking the Ambien I was offered for the flight...that is something I will have to remember for next time.  The guy sitting in the aisle seat was very friendly.  He was from Canada (Ottawa) and had stopped in Vancouver for the Olympics before flying out with a group of his friends for New Zealand.  I regret that I didn't really talk much with him, because I slept (although I woke up every few hours) almost the entire flight.  I did get a little nervous as we flew over Fiji and had some crazy turbulence (in case you didn't catch it, that was a shout-out to the Lost fans out there).  But in the end we made it, phew!


March 3rd: After landing in New Zealand, I figured out the time difference while waiting at the airport.  We had crossed the international date line and completely lost March 2nd, so it was now March 3rd and very early in the morning.  From Australia, we are 18 hours ahead of Arizona, 19 hours ahead of California, and 16 hours ahead of the East Coast.  This means that for the people in CA, I am an entire day ahead of you, but 5 hours behind.  So when it is 2PM here on March 3rd, it is 7PM in CA on March 2nd.  Make sense?


From Auckland, I flew to Melbourne which was slightly less than a 4-hour flight.  My mom's friend's family had offered to pick me up from the airport, but I had never met them before.  I just knew that as I exited customs I was supposed to look for a woman in a black and white jacket.  I had a small scare getting through customs, when the girl working there called over her manager, but it turned out that they had not put my middle name on my visa...no big deal!  


As I exited customs, there was a lot of clapping and cheering which I thought was a great way to welcome all of the people getting off the plane.  That is when I realized that one of the Australian gold medal winners from the Olympics was on my flight, and there were her family, friends and media surrounding her.  Wasn't a friendly Australian welcome after all.


I had no problem spotting my family away from home, and I was excited to finally be in Melbourne.  I had decided that I would stay at their house for the first couple of days while I got over my jetlag, so I will be in the suburbs of Melbourne until Friday when I relocate to the city.  They turned out to be the cutest Australian (well really they are both British and Australian since they have passports for both countries) couple, and I have really enjoyed spending today with them.  The husband ends every sentence directed at me with "my love" as in "Would you like some more tea, my love?"  They have a cute, red brick house where I not only have 1, but 2 bedrooms and a bathroom for my use, and they are also letting me leave some of my luggage with them while I travel.  

I was already impressed with the Australian hospitality when they informed me that we were going to "have a barbie" for dinner which basically means we were going to eat delicious chicken and pineapple skewers, burgers, and steaks cooked on the grill.  I had heard I wasn't going to like the food in Australia, but I was a big fan of everything I ate today.  


Other than "the barbie," my other Australian experience today was "drinking a spider."  Sounds weird I know, and when I asked, my host did not know why they call it a spider, but basically it is the same concept as a root beer float (except the root beer is replaced with other flavored sodas such as raspberry or Sprite).  They put a scoop of ice cream on top and they are served in most coffee shops.  


I also got an Australian cell phone today, so be on the lookout because I will post my number soon in case anyone wants to reach me.  I have no idea how much it will cost, so check your plans before doing it...  Still, the best way to reach me is either by commenting on my blog (I fixed it so you should be able to now), email, or Facebook.


At the suggestion of someone (ok, Brandon - my lil - I will give you credit), I am going to start posting pictures as often as I can.  It was suggested that I should do a picture a day, but I do not want to over-promise, but I will have some for you soon!